Totally Killer movie review - Aussieboyreviews
HOW FRESH OF A TIME-TRAVELING SLASHER COMEDY IS TOTALLY KILLER?
Totally Killer is simply just a nonsensical slasher comedy with time-traveling. It’s the kind of “stupid” movie that some audiences just won’t buy while others will just sit back, laugh and have good fun with.
Storyline
On Halloween night when the infamous “Sweet Sixteen Killer” returns 35 years after brutally murdering three teens, 17-year-old Jamie accidentally travels back in time to the year 1987, teaming up with her teenage mother to stop the killer before he can start.
Movie Images
Movie details
Director: Nahnatchka Khan
Cast: Kiernan Shipka, Olivia Holt, Charlie Gillespie, Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson, Liana Liberato, Julie Bowen, Jeremy Monn-Djasngar, Randall Park
Writer: David Matalon, Sasha Perl-Raver, Jen D’Angelo
Release Date (Australia): 6 October 2023
Runtime: 106 minutes/1h 46m
Genre: Comedy, Horror
Country: USA
Language: English
CONTENT GUIDE (warning: May contain spoilers)
The film contains themes in the form of sequences in which characters are terrorised and attacked by a serial killer, as well as autopsy photos, crude humour and the use of time-travel.
The film features multiple depictions of stabbing murders and a woman’s throat being slit, accompanied by sprays and spatters of blood, as well as occasional injury detail.
The film features the words “f**k”, “s**t”, “bitch” and “ass”
The film features multiple verbal references to drugs and features a scene in which teenagers share cannabis brownies.
None.
The film contains sexual innuendo and crude verbal references to sexual acts and oral sex.
mpaa rating
R (for bloody violence, language, sexual material, and teen drug/alcohol use)
Aussie boy's thoughts
Despite Totally Killer’s accurate writing and details for the 1980s, viewers expecting at least some degree of logical thought will find the film too Gen Z for the majority of its time setting, and the killer plot too silly to enjoy. Comedic and/or satirical slashers including Scream, Freaky and Happy Death Day basically meet Back to the Future for the very first time, making Totally Killer a totally ridiculous teen horror-comedy that might be worth excluding from your annual Halloween movie-spree.
Please don’t get the wrong vibe though, because that’s not to say that Totally Killer is a totally terrible joke-and-slasher-fest with nothing to enjoy. I find this movie to be quite a watchable late-night movie that I know some people will enjoy for its fun sense of humour and ultimate silliness. The writers totally knew what they were handling; all of the 80s references and even some of the small details remind you of the earlier time. Plus, the cast do a solid job with the material they’ve been given and the film as a whole is watchable for the most part.
But where the film really falters is in its direction, and I think it descends a little too far into absurdity. Please note that from this point, my opinion on these aspects aren’t completely valid, as I didn’t exist during the 80s. But in my personal experience, I never found myself to be transported to or feeling the vibe of the portrayed year. Regardless of some accurate writing, I still found the film’s spirit and characters to be very “2023ish”. However, my biggest issue was that I simply just didn’t have fun with or enjoy its story a lot. I knew nothing about this movie going in, except I had the idea that it would be a fun teen slasher comedy. Some people will like it, but others such as myself did not.
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